"Any planet is 'Earth' to those that live on it." - Issac Asimov

Announcement: I'm currently looking for voice actors. Click here for details if you're interested and PM me or comment on that thread! Or you can comment on this itch.io page.

The N.E.X.U.S. Project is a sci-fi RPG that takes place in the year 3000, approximately a thousand years in the future. The human race has become highly advanced, and large portions of the universe have become charted. Yet there is still much out there to discover. Commander Eridanus sends three talented individuals out on a search for other planets. But while they are gone, a terrible event strikes.

Backstory

At the start of all, the beginning of everything that is, was, and will be, things were created. Not all of these creations are on Earth. Ever since man had thought, man had wondered about what the universe had hidden within its vast, cold expanse. What might be there, past the sea of shining stars. Desires like these have burned in the bellies of humankind, leading to discovery after discovery.

Man has uncovered more than could ever be counted. Finally, after so many turned to dust, burning away in the flames, chasing after the secrets of the universe, man’s dream has finally come true. Man has unlocked the door of the stars.

It is the year 3000. Earth has placed their hopes in three brave explorers; hoping they can find and charter the mysteries of the universe. They are to find new planets, to explore them, to learn them, to charter them. This operation is known as "The Project for New Exploration of Unknown Systems" - Project N.E.X.U.S.

Their names are Nova, Pandora, and Andromeda.

Features

• Fast-paced, action-filled sideview battle system of real difficulty that keeps you on your toes
• No RTP! (besides sound effects)
• Beautiful maps of a fiery alien world
• A dramatic storyline
• Hidden treasure!
• Custom menu system
• Gorgeous character busts

And last but certainly not least...

• Squashable alien eggs!

Characters

Nova

Nova became a soldier almost as soon as he became an adult, but when he was discharged from the military, he became a mercenary. He left that life behind too, and now he's been recruited by the Commander as the "muscle" for the mission.

Pandora

Pandora is an outstanding pilot, one of the greatest on earth. She's flown numerous missions in the past, so she seemed the perfect candidate for the mission.

Andromeda

Andromeda is an expert mechanic and an overall tech whiz. She's coming on the mission in case any technical problems arise.

Credits

Every individual listed here was important to the game, but there are a few people who have encouraged me and/or generously have provided custom-made resources for my game specifically.

Special thanks goes to...
@SmashArtist , the artist behind the outstanding character busts and enemy graphics
@Sauteed_Onion , who created music for my game and has supported me throughout
@Jchurch9 , who did a whole lot of work on the dialogue for my game
@Guiguimu , a great person who has motivated and supported me throughout development
@Puruiro , who drew a fabulous battleback - appears in the fourth screenshot and in most of the game's battles
@Starmage , who made some resources and has just been a huge supporter
@BrandedTales , who helped write some of the dialogue too - specifically, the excellent first scene where they're told of their mission. (I only edited it very slightly.)
@A-Moonless-Night , who wrote a script patch for me combining Nicke and Galv's menu plugins - resulting in a completely unique menu

And everyone else (in no particular order)
Avery
Hyde
Sixth
Dekita
McTricky
Dopan
Neon Black
ShinGamix
Kevvviiinnn
PandaMaru
Allusion
Apoc
Usui
TheBrogrammer
OCS
Yanfly
Moghunter
Nicke
KilloZapit
Galv
TheTrueCyprien
TheoAllen
Maker Systems - RPG Maker Source
Kadokawa/Enterbrain
CoolText
GaryCXJk
Tsukihime
Matseb2611
Celianna
Sherman3D
Soichi
Jet
Ms Littlefish
Rabosion
NoiseForFun.com (for a couple of sound effects)
wanderer-arts (game icon)
Firb
Darren Curtis
Lokif
Guiguimu
Victor Sant
NeoFantasy
DianteC
JEIA_CORP
Vlue
Andy Chen
Michael Galefire

Log

1/19/2018 - Version 1.0.0 - Uploaded game.

1/21/2018 - Version 1.1.0 - Added option to squash alien eggs, expanded ship, added boss, made monsters tougher (slightly)

1/22/2018 - Version 1.2.0 - Changed one actor's skills, fixed one mistake, added some dialogue after boss

1/28/2018 - Version 2.0.0 - "Items" is now first option on menu, screen tint while in alien world, added more to the spaceship, fixed an accuracy issue.

1/28/2018 - Version 2.1.0 - Font color changed slightly, small glitch when leveling up, title screen scrolls slower

1/30/2018 - Version 2.2.0 - Changed a couple of music tracks, changed battle transition, added a new battleback, slightly changed the look of one alien, added some dialogue with a somewhat intelligent alien after the boss, I will improve it later, changed the icon for the death state, all aliens may now inflict the state Sick, which is like poison. The harder the alien, the more likely it will inflict the state.

1/31/2018 - Version 2.3.0 - Logo was changed, the menu got a complete revamp.

2/1/2018 - Version 2.4.0 - The appearance of the enemies was completely changed, the dialogue at the start was changed somewhat.

2/1/2018 - Version 2.4.1 - Fixed one game crashing bug.

2/1/2018 - Version 2.5.0 - I changed a lot of the dialogue, and changed the boss music.

2/10/2018 - Version 3.0.0 - Download was changed to an RAR file. This is to speed up the download and make uploading easier, and RAR files are smaller. Characters were changed dramatically. See the character section for what I mean. An error was fixed in battle where both enemies would flash instead of just one. Windowskin was changed. New scripts were added, including a smooth cursor and camera! Removed free movement. You can still walk diagonally. Changed the spaceship layout a bit. Got @Jchurch9 helping with my dialogue. Some of the dialogue has been changed thanks to him! Fixed a collision error or two. Fixed an error with the enemy scan ability that the second character has. It will now show the elements the enemy is weak to! Fixed a very small glitch for the armor descriptions. Enemies may now drop upgraded armor. It is a very rare drop, but the boss will always drop one suit! I made so many changes that I think I forgot one or two. If you see any others, remind me!

2/15/2018 - Version 3.1.0 - Changed more dialogue, added more alien eggs, changed alien world music, added anti-lag script, added a small sound effect as words are added in messages.

2/21/2018 - Version 3.2.0 - Changed alien world map, changed animations, changed a couple of skills, changed the Heat Vision skill to Scan, and it now lowers defense, changed the elements, changed the weapons of the characters, added a treasure chest in the small cave area. It holds a weapon. After the intro cutscenes, a HUD now displays things like HP and location, on the keyboard, A and S can now be pressed to change what actor is in front, changed game name, changed support banner.

2/27/2018 - Version 3.3.0 - Added content, including dialogue from my writer, changed one of the sounds

2/27/2018 - Version 3.3.1 - Changed game icon

3/4/2018 - Version 3.4.0 - Added a new scene at the beginning, with Eridanus briefly re-appearing, changed battle music

3/5/2018 - Version 3.5.0 - Added more content, changed spaceship map, changed download to a zip file

3/18/2018 - Version 4.0.0 - Changed dialogue so Pandora is a bit nicer, alien world tint was changed VERY slightly, some of the item and weapons descriptions were changed, fixed a typo that slipped past me, added instructions to the battle on how to fight

4/2/2018 - Version 5.0.0 - Changed all skill and item descriptions. Added more content. Changed battleback.

4/7/2018 - Version 5.1.0 - Changed title screen. Changed intro cutscene. Changed battle music. Changed boss music. Fixed fatal bug that froze the game. Changed description for "scan". Changed the cave map. Bosses do two to three hits less often.

4/13/2018 - Version 5.1.1 - Changed boss battle music, changed fire graphic when ship is on fire, and also, when Pandora and Nova are sleeping, they have a sleeping pose. I added healing items before the second boss.

4/16/2018 - Version 5.2.0 - Changed enemy and actor sprites. Thanks to @Starmage for making the new actor sprites and one of the new enemies. NOTE: The animated battlers script has two issues, none of which crash the game, it is where the pop ups are off center for the actors and the enemy collapse effect is broken. I am working on fixing those.

4/16/2018 - Version 5.2.1 - Changed the animated battlers script to fix a couple of issues. Also changed the battles so that only the battleback is tinted.

4/19/2018 - Version 5.3.0 - Changed some dialogue. Fixed a passability issue. Added options menu. Added a cheat system with "cheat bots" from the options menu. Added rating splash screen. Changed the silence speech balloon.

4/20/2018 - Version 5.3.1 - Changed almost all speech balloons.

4/23/2018 - Version 6.0.0 - Changed the intro window at the beginning. Added a very small scene where they get on the ship. Removed a part of the tutorial. Made Nova slightly weaker and Pandora's Scan ability is now stronger. Reduced encounter rates. Fixed an issue with the eggs. Fixed a passability issue. Fixed a dialogue issue.

4/29/2018 - Version 7.0.0 - Changed title screen, changed character appearance dramatically, added mouse script, changed battle music, changed boss music, changed music at the beginning scene, changed the battler script until new battlers are created.

5/4/2018 - Version 7.1.0 - Changed enemy sprites (credit to @SmashArt!), and changed portrait for Andromeda in one place. Also busts appear in battle.

5/21/2018 - Version 7.2.0 - Changed Pandora's appearance. Changed class from "Spy" to "Sniper". Changed a small amount of the dialogue at the beginning to show that Pandora is a sniper, not a biologist.

5/25/2018 - Version 7.3.0 - Fixed some instances of the wrong bust appearing for Pandora. Changed menu layout to show busts, partly thanks to @A-Moonless-Night. Changed intro music to have drums.

10/10/2019 - Version 8.0.0 - Changed characters back to the old ones. Changed battle HUD. Added enemy HP bars. Added a secret area with some treasure. Changed some intro dialogue. Changed the sleeping sprites of my characters.

2/10/2022 - Current Version - Version 8.1.0 - Changed character graphics, but same basic theme. Did some work on chapter 2. I can't remember what else.